The Veteran's stomach cancer was not incurred in service and is not etiologically related to service. The claim for service connection for stomach cancer is denied.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records do not reflect any complaints, symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment for any gastric symptoms or disorders, and the November 1996 service separation examination found the Veteran’s abdomen and viscera to be clinically normal.
- Claimed conditions
- gastric adenocarcinoma (stomach cancer)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19108145
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19108145.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining medical opinions on whether the Veteran's stomach cancer was not properly diagnosed by VA physicians and whether it resulted from exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's stomach cancer was not found to be related to his active duty service, including exposure to herbicide agents and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The claim for service connection under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is also denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, gastric adenocarcinoma (stomach cancer), and hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected sleep apnea.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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